Gaming in the United States is divided into Class I, Class II and Class III games. Class I gaming includes social games played for minimal prizes, or traditional ceremonial games. Class II gaming includes bingo games, pull tab games if played in the same location as bingo games, lotto, punch boards, tip jars, instant bingo, and other games similar to bingo. Class III gaming includes any game that is not a Class I or Class II game, such as a game of chance typically offered in non-Indian, state-regulated casinos. Many games of chance that are played on gaming machines fall into the Class II and Class III categories of games.
As technology in the gaming industry progresses, the traditional mechanically driven reel slot machines are being replaced with electronic counterparts, that is, electronic gaming machines having video displays based on CRT, LCD or the like. Electronic gaming machines such as video slot machines and video poker machines are becoming increasingly popular. Part of the reason for their increased popularity is the nearly endless variety of games that can be implemented on a single gaming machine. Advancements in video/electronic gaming enable the operation of more complex games that would not otherwise be possible on mechanical-driven gaming machines or personal computers.
Various games, particularly the Class II and Class III categories of games, can be implemented as server-based games in a server-client system. In a server-based gaming arrangement, a gaming server serves multiple gaming machines as clients. For example, a casino can include a plurality of gaming machines located on the game floor, and a connected gaming server located in a back room of the casino. Generally, the games and capabilities of a gaming machine depend on the central server. The gaming machine may download games from the central server or may rely on the central server to run the games.
To enhance the gaming experience, there are devices that can be connected to a gaming machine such as a slot machine or video poker machine. Examples of these devices include player tracking units, lights, ticket printers, card readers, speakers, bill validators, ticket readers, coin acceptors, display panels, key pads, coin hoppers and button pads. These devices are built into the gaming machine or components attached to the gaming machine, for instance, a top box which is constructed on top of the gaming machine.
Typically, using a master gaming controller, a gaming machine controls various combinations of devices that allow a player to play a game on the gaming machine and also encourage game play on the gaming machine. For example, a game played on a gaming machine usually requires a player to input money or an indicia of credit into the gaming machine, indicate a wager amount, and initiate game play. These steps require the gaming machine to control input devices, such as bill validators and coin acceptors, to accept money into the gaming machine and recognize user inputs from devices, including key pads, button pads, card readers, and ticket readers, to determine the wager amount, and initiate game play.
After game play has been initiated, the gaming machine determines a game outcome, presents the game outcome to the player and may dispense an award of some type depending on the outcome of the game. A game outcome presentation may utilize many different visual and audio components such as flashing lights, music, sounds and graphics. The visual and audio components of the game outcome presentation may be used to draw a player's attention to various game features and to heighten the player's interest in additional game play.
Maintaining a game player's interest in game play, such as on a gaming machine or during other gaming activities, is an important consideration for an operator of a gaming establishment. As technology in the gaming industry progresses, more and more gaming services are being provided to gaming machines to maintain player interest. These services can be offered via communication networks that link groups of gaming machines to a remote computer, such as a host server, that provides one or more gaming services. As an example, gaming services that may be provided by a remote computer to a gaming machine via a communication network of some type include player tracking, accounting, cashless award ticketing, lottery, progressive games, and bonus games or prizes. These services and features are provided in addition to the games that are available for play on the gaming machines.
Player tracking programs are often offered by a particular gaming establishment to provide rewards to players that typically correspond to the player's level of patronage, for example, to the player's playing frequency and/or total amount of game plays at the particular gaming establishment. Player tracking rewards may be free meals, free lodging and/or free entertainment. These rewards may help to sustain a game player's interest in additional game play during a visit to a gaming establishment and may entice a player to visit a gaming establishment to partake in various gaming activities.
Bonusing systems have proven to be popular with players of gaming machines and to increase levels of play, particularly when the bonus prize pool becomes large. Like player tracking programs, bonusing systems have only been implemented by gaming establishments at specific gaming venues, such as a casino. Therefore, the bonus pool can only grow as fast as contributions at that site will permit. Moreover, bonusing systems are typically implemented as part of a player tracking or accounting system operated by the gaming establishment at which the bonusing system is implemented. Conventional techniques for adding bonusing features to a set of gaming machines require that the player tracking or accounting system be upgraded. In addition, owners of gaming establishments do not want to share player tracking information, so linking bonusing systems between gaming establishments would be problematic.
While gaming establishment operators have offered services such as player tracking programs and bonusing systems to further their economic interests, gaming machine providers have their own interests separate and apart from the gaming establishment. Gaming machine providers can refer to gaming machine manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors, and essentially any party involved in the making, selling, and distribution of gaming machines to casinos and other gaming establishments. On a fundamental level, a gaming machine provider is generally interested in: 1) encouraging game play on machines provided by that provider, and 2) monitoring the usage of gaming machines provided by that provider. The gaming machine provider has these same interests regardless of which casino(s) the player visits, and how much time the player spends in a given casino. Apart from the success of a particular gaming establishment, the gaming machine provider wants to increase the current profitability of games and machines it provides, and gather data as to the types of games, machines, and locations of those machines providing the greatest revenue, to increase future profitability by making better business decisions based on the gathered data.
It would be desirable to provide novel bonusing and other player loyalty systems that offer economic benefits to gaming machine providers, as well as the casino operators.